The game of golf, and the various stances and hand grips used when golfing are very well known in the art. Indeed, it is well known that most golfers, when gripping a golf club, wear a glove on their bottom hand, also known as the “glove hand”, for obtaining a better grip of the golf club and to combat rubbing and blistering of the hand against the club. However, the thumb of the top hand, or “leading hand”, which is typically not protected by a glove, is also in contact with the club, and thus, prone to rubbing against the club. It has been found that most golfers don't want or require the coverage provided by an entire glove on their top hand because the grip it provides is not needed and the use of an entire glove results in a substantially decreased “feel” for the club (and thus subsequently substantially decreased “feel” for the ball). Consequently, because the thumb of the non-gloved hand (i.e. leading hand) is left unprotected, it is prone to chafing and blistering resulting from its interaction (rubbing, etc.) with the club.
It is also known in the art that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, when a golfer's thumb of a non-gloved hand pushes down onto a club, the index and/or middle finger (or other fingers for that matter) of the same hand push up which makes these other fingers just as prone to rubbing, blistering, chafing, and the like, as the thumb itself.
It is also known in the art that most golfers often resort to adhesive bandages to protect their fingers' skin. However, it has been found that these temporary remedies often need replacing after just a few swings as they very often tear, shift, or fall off with wear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,443 granted to GREEN on Mar. 14, 2000, relates to an exposed palm golf glove for covering selected fingers of a golfer. There is described a palmless golf glove which allows for a normal grip stance of the golf club, chaffing protection for at least the second and third fingers, prevention of slippage and full palm tactility. The palmless golf glove includes a body section for covering a selected portion of the back (anterior) of a hand but not any of the palm of the hand, at least second and third finger receptacles connected to a forward end of the body section, and a wrist band for anchoring the palmless golf glove to the hand without slippage. In the preferred embodiment, the palmless golf glove includes closed-ended finger receptacles for selected fingers and a body section that completely exposes the palm.
Also known to the Applicant are the following patents and patent applications which describe different devices to be used with hands: U.S. Pat. No. 1,479,771; U.S. Pat. No. 1,483,595; U.S. Pat. No. 2,317,227; U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,159; U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,179; U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,610; U.S. Pat. No. 2,975,429; U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,962; U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,563; U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,043; U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,220; U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,075; U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,511; U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,079; U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,787; U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,089; U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,510; U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,068; U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,788; U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,443; CA 2,306,493; DE 198 54 237 A1; JP 6039073; and JP 2000254268.
A significant problem associated with the devices described in the above-mentioned prior art documents is that they do not teach to have a finger protecting device intended for protecting at least one finger of a hand of a user of the device against the occurrence of chafing resulting from rubbing of the at least one finger against the shaft when practicing a sport with the shaft, while at the same time enabling other fingers of the hand to have their fingertips exposed so as to have a proper “feel” of the shaft when holding the shaft.
Another significant problem associated with the devices described in the above-mentioned prior art documents is that they do not teach a finger protecting device for protecting at least one finger of a hand of a user of the device against the occurrence of chafing resulting from rubbing of the at least one finger against the shaft when practicing a sport with the shaft, the finger device comprising fastening means which are more easily operable with a gloved hand for example, and which are also devised to maintain the finger protecting device in a given configuration.
Hence, in light of the aforementioned, there is a need for an improved device which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome some of the aforementioned prior art problems.